The Paris Olympics is the main "green card"

In recent years, from grand events such as the Winter Olympics and Asian Games to sports events such as bicycle races and marathons, achieving "green" and "sustainable" has always been the direction and goal of competition organizers.

In half a month, the 2024 Paris Olympics will open. Various preparations are currently in full swing. The Olympic Village will open its doors to participating athletes in mid-July.

According to reports, the Paris Olympics focuses on the concepts of green, environmental protection and sustainability, and reducing carbon emissions by 50% is the commitment of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee.

The Olympic Village "abandons air conditioning" and will use geothermal cooling systems and fans

Previously, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee said their goal is to host an amazing event while working hard to reduce material and energy consumption.

In order to achieve this goal, the Paris Olympic Village makes full use of existing local building facilities, such as transforming the film and television base into an oversized restaurant that can accommodate 3200 seats. In June, the restaurant in the Olympic Village conducted its first trial operation.

In addition to making full use of existing local building facilities, the Olympic Village also announced that it would "abandon air conditioning" to save energy and reduce emissions. It is reported that the Olympic Village is mainly built of wood and low-carbon cement, with natural ventilation instead of using air conditioning to ensure that carbon emissions per square meter are lower than traditional buildings.

In this regard, the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee stated that a geothermal cooling system will be used to pump cold water into the apartment to achieve a temperature difference of "6 to 10 degrees Celsius" indoors and outdoors. In short, it uses a water cooling system to cool the house. Water is taken from the Seine River next to the Olympic Village and circulated through pipes to reduce the overall temperature of the building.

Tony Estangue, chairman of the Paris Olympic Organizing Committee, said: "The geothermal cooling system can reduce the temperature in the apartment compared to the outdoor temperature. This is the system we want to provide. In addition, fans will be installed (indoors)."

The practice of not installing air conditioning in the Paris Olympic Village has caused some controversy, and some participating delegations also have their own countermeasures. The U.S. team has confirmed that it will bring its own air conditioning for U.S. athletes to use in their rooms in the Olympic Village. Athletes from the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark and Italy will also reportedly install their own air conditioning systems in the Olympic Village.

During the Olympics and Paralympics, the Olympic Village was home to more than 20,000 athletes and logistics staff, with more than 2800 apartments.

After the Olympics, one-quarter of the apartments will become public housing, and the rest will become affordable housing for low-income people and students, with the first batch of residents moving in in spring 2025.

"From the beginning, we have considered both the short and long term aspects." Marion Le Paul, co-director-general of SOLIDEO, a public agency responsible for Olympic infrastructure construction, said,"The Olympic Village will have a second life after the Olympics, which will reflect the vitality of the Olympic Village for a long time."

In addition, in order to reduce carbon emissions, some venues such as the Olympic Aquatic Center will use environmentally friendly seats made of recycled plastic waste. These environmentally friendly seats are made of hundreds of tons of renewable plastic through technologies such as thermal compression, which can reduce carbon emissions and waste during the plastic production process.

Paris will become a pilot case for the International Olympic Committee's new sustainable development strategy

In addition to the Olympic Village and venues striving to be green and low-carbon, relevant reports say that during the Paris Olympics, diesel generators will no longer be used to power live broadcasts... Organizers of the Paris Olympics hope to prove that the largest sports event currently can also be Green.

For the Olympic Games, which opens on July 26, Paris has committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by half compared to the 2012 London Olympics and the 2016 Rio Olympics.

This is not only a test of Paris's ability to protect the environment, but also a test of the International Olympic Committee's ambition to host sustainable super events in the context of climate change.

In order to achieve this goal, Paris announced that it would limit the number of private cars and advise tourists to give priority to public transportation. During the Olympics, the Paris Regional Transport Commission will launch the "Paris 2024 Pass", which allows visitors to use public transportation after paying daily or weekly fees.

International Olympic Committee President Thomas Bach said climate change was "one of the greatest threats to the future of sports." He said: "Climate change is increasingly affecting where, when and how events are held. It has affected athlete performance and audience experience."

Marie Salois, head of the International Olympic Committee's Corporate and Sustainable Development Department, said that Paris will become a pilot case for the International Olympic Committee's new sustainable development strategy. "Paris is the first Olympic Games to showcase this ambition," she said.